I    u.C.  BERKELEY  UBRAkY 

y%tSd^r\  UC-NRLF 


B   H   440  3Sfl 


THE  MUSIC  OF  BOHEMIA 


LADISLAV  URBAN 


^j^^      3-    -^cu^     V^o-o^   ^t^o4.    cA 

,_  to  Wc.  i/^fc  ^t  ^^  ^^^ 

c      f-    n  j^     OVujtX  . 


AMERICA 


,vith 


consummate  art.  We  found  it 
impossible  to  realize  that  this 
broken  voice  only  two  years  ago. 
et  of  male  voices  in  two  groups 
songs  demonstrated  by  crisp 


self  worthy  of  being  regarded  to-day  i 
the  chief  exponent  of  Czecho-Slovak  folk 
songs,  although  he  is  better  known 
abroad  as  a  concert  and  operatic  bari- 
tone. Three  or  four  other  promising 
voices  made  their  debut  in  this  recital — 
Augusta  Kupec,  Caroline  Kozlik  and 
Tilly  Ludra.  The  second  singer,  with  a 
heavy  dramatic  voice  made  a  definite 
contrast  with  the  first,  whose  voice  is 
that  of  a  light  coloraturist's  while  the 
third  voice,  an  unusual  contralto,  showed 
much  latent  power  and  intelligent  study. 
The  work  of  Stevo  Stojanovic's  pupils 
showed  painstaking  scholarly  teaching 
both   of  violin   and   piano.      Mr.    Stoja- 


JAN  HUS  HOUSE  CHERISHING  MUSIC  OF 
CZECHO-SLOVAKIA  FOR  ITS  PEOPLE  HERE 

Under  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Francis  Pangrac,  Neighborhood  House  Is 
Keeping  Alive  the  Native  Songs— A  Concert  by  the  East 
Side  Students — Stevo  Stovanovic  and  Mme.  Wetche  Also 
Among  the  Workers 


country  b 
ardent  patriot,  havinpc  served  two  years 
in  the  front  line  trenches  in  Servia.  Mr. 
Stojanovic  faithfully  upholds  the  Old- 
World  standards  in  his  art,  and  co-op- 
erates whole-heartedly  with  Mr.  Pangrac 
in  his  efforts  to  establish  a  fii-st-class 
violin  school,  in  the  manner  of  the  great 
Sevcik. 

The  gem  of  the  evening  was  clearly 
the  national  anthem  "Kde  Domov  Muj 
("0  Home  Land  Mine"),  sang  by  a  sex- 
tet of  young  girls  who  made  a  profound 
impression  this  past  season  at  the  Fes- 
tival of  Liberty  when  they  give  with- 
'Tnrirutcm.ip«iili/ient  «  Eohetnian  Chorale 
written  in  the  Czech  tongue  in  the  ninth 
century,  adding  also  a  cycle  of  five  folk 
songs  both  harmonized  and  conducted  by 
Anna  Fuka  Pangrac.  In  this  second  ef- 
fort Mme.  Pangrac  has  achieved  some- 
thing of  unusual  appeal;  the  voices  pour 
out  like  one  great  round  voice,  delicately 
shaded  and  richly  colored;  the  tragedy 
of  Bohemia  throbs  through  the  music. 
Mme.  Pangrac  is  a  pianist  composer,  a 
singer,  but  above  all  an  organist.     "' 


w 


i  came   upon   the  Jan   Hus   House 
.suddenly.     It   loomed   big,   stately 

hildren.  babies,  old  mothers,  young 
iiothers,  push  carts  and  fruit  stands. 
me  treaded  one's  way  slowly  on  the 
tiect  and  on  the  road,  stepping  over  the 
kippins;  ropes  and  watching  for  the  al- 
eys  and  tops,  and  at  the  same  time 
liiJt'iiic  the  flying  balls.     It  was  a  grand 

Then  out  of  the  darkness  loomed  the 
!f  'valls  of  this  Czecho-Slovak  Neighbor- 
M'uil  Huuse,  a  fit  monument  of  the  na- 
lon's  pride  and  hope  for  her  children  in 
:iiis  other  land — America.  One  felt  the 
atmosphere  at  once  in  the  quaint  hall, 
with  it.s  huge  fire  place,  and  in  the  simple 
lines  of  the  peasant  chairs  and  tables 
sometimes  touched  with  gay  color. 

Coming  to  the  East  Side  this  night  as 
a  willing  martyr — a  martyr  who  would 
listen  to  ambitious  East  Side  music 
tauKht  by  semi-volunteers  to  semi-will- 
int;  students  at  intermittent  periods,  we 
had  expected  some  cheap,  snappy  music 
mtermlngled  with  some  badly  mangled 
L-ro-l  music.  We  heard  neither.  While 
^M  listened  to  the  violin  quartets,  the 
[oaiio  solos  and  the  vocal  sextets,  our  mind 
i[irniisciously  forgot  that  this  was  a  re- 
cital on  the  East  Side  for  here  first-class 
toailiing  methods  and  accepted  musical 
-tandards  certainly  prevailed. 

This  music  work  is  under  Mr.  and  Mrs. 


1  the  first  ' 


Bohemi! 


the  organ  as  a  concert 
■      •  ■  ntly     - 


take 


thi: 


appeari 
,  her  American  audi- 
r  among  the  fine  or- 
i  of  the  dav.  Mme.  Pangrac  brings 
to  this  work  the  attitude  of  her  historic 
university,  where  she  was  established  till 
the  war  forced  her  into  exile  in  America. 
She  is  an  uncompromising  adherent  of 
classical  standards,  whether  she  works  in 
the  Conservatoire  of  Prague  or  m  the 
East  Side  Neighborhood  House  of  Czecho 
Slovakia. 

Nor  are  these  all  the  opportunities  of- 
fered by  the  Neighborhood  House  in  mu- 
sical education.  Mme.  Vojackova  Wet- 
che, a  pianist  of  prominence,  and  also  a 
graduate  of  the  Conservatoire  of  Prague 
and  well  known  as  the  accompanist  of 
.Sevcik,  accentuates  the  classical  atmos- 
phere of  the  House  by  adding 


of  the  national  traits  of  Bohemia,  a 
joyousness,  a  bubbling  enthusiasm,  a 
he'arted  sympathy.  To  teach  here 
takes  time  from  her  crowded  caret 
a  pianist,  teacher  and  one  of  the  fai 
Czecho-Slovak  trio   (of  which  Mr. 


big- 


also 


She 


ponent  of  the  Effa  Ellis  Perfleld  School 
of  Pedagogy  sometimes  called  the  New 
Thought,  Theory,  Harmony  and  Composi- 

With  these  workers  the  Jan  Hus  House 
is  making  Americans  and  musicians  of 
the  little  Czecho-Slovak  children  of  the 
East  Side.  M.  B.  S.      . 


of  the  Czecho-Slovak 
race  to  the  music  lovers  of  America 
through  his  Victor  records,  is  perhaps  as 
successful  a  teacher  as  a  singer.  He 
brings  to  his  work  such  a  warmth,  such 
a  definite  training,  such  a  system,  that 
success  could  not  fail  him,  especially  in 


provokes  wonder   and   adm 


Rarely  have  we  heard  anything  more 
delightful  than  the  voice  of  Arthur  Jed- 
licka  in  a  selection  from  the  Bohemian 
opera,  "The  Bartered  Bride,"  by  Sme- 
tana.  The  voice  has  a  witching  timbre, 
clear  and  round,  and  the  young  singer, 
interpreted  the  rollicking  yet  tender  mu- 


JAN  HUS  HOU| 
CZECHO-SLO\ 


Under  Mr.  and  Mrs 
Keeping  Alive 
Side  Students— 
Among  the  W 


17  E   came   upon   the  Jar  • 
'  »     suddenly.      It   loomed  f 
nd  permanent  in  a  swirli:  • 
lildren,     babies,     old     mo  i 
lothers,    push    carts    and 
ne   treaded    one's    way   s[ 
reet  and  on  the  road,  stej 
[ipping  ropes  and  watchij 
ys    and    tops,    and   at    t| 
)dging  the  flying  balls,     j^^^ 
ibel  of  noise,  color  and  ml^ 
Then  out  of  the  darknes\  (^. 
g  walls  of  this  Czecho-Slovi 
)od  House,  a  fit  monumen 
3n's  pride  and  hope  for  he 
is  other  land — America, 
mosphere  at  once  in  the^ 
ith  its  huge  fire  place,  and 
les  of  the   peasant  chaii 
metimes  touched  with  ga 
Coming  to  the  East  Side 
willing  martyr — a  mart 
;ten    to    ambitious    Eas^ 
ught  by  semi-volunteers   to  semi-\^ 


^^'^m^^mmM 


*i,. 


g  students  at  intermittent  periods,  \     .^e 
,d  expected  some  cheap,  snappy  muW^ 


ACE  PADEREWSKI  ON  THE 
\aph  of  the  Polish  Premier  W 
He  Had  Handed  His  Peace  Te 


termingled   with   some   badly  mangled 
od  music.     We  heard  neither.     While 
;   listened  to  the   violin   quartets,   the 
mo  solos  and  the  vocal  sextets,  our  mind 
iconsciously  forgot  that  this  was  a  re- 
\\\%  '\'e\\\  punoj  aABii'puB  'uo'os  ■pui3 
isodniq  q^i^  i^l^j.oaiip  Suipap  'p^:^UIId 
n     Su'iA^q'    puB     s;uauiasi;j8ApB     aqi 
uSis8p'*n^H  3^^  :guiJiq  s^  qons  'Jiasi^ui 

Llli<:j9A9   aUOP  OSTB   8ABq   T   PU^   *SpU8I.IJ 


to    build    and    subsidize    a 
tion.      Mr.    rangrac,    w^i^  t 
•tjg'-Q^   82   uo   puGoas   aq;  -^ 
-nv  uo  u8atS  aq  UIM  ;sjt      J 
-nv  ui  piaq  aq  o;  n^  'sa 
JO  s^iaoAV  aq:^  jo  qo^a  saoi 
JO   sapXo   aajq;   jo   c^stsuo 
lBAi:^sa^    i^jnquo;s^lO    aq   ( 
-u^'  BiuBiQ    3!sni\[    JO    l^ 

.laAa  SBU  ai  %^m  adoDS  ui  i' 


Eni 

Gj 

Abb, 
RutI 
to  be 
dram 
the  S( 
mer, 
had  h 


■> 


i 


^ 


JAN  HUS  HOU 
CZECHO-SLO)l 

Under  Mr.  and  Mrs 
Keeping  Alive 
Side  Students— 
Among  the  W 


niTE  came  upon  the  Jai 
'  '  suddenly.  It  loomedt 
nd  permanent  in  a  swirli 
hildren,  babies,  old  mo 
lothers,  push  carts  and 
•ne  treaded  one's  way  s, 
:reet  and  on  the  road,  ste 
dpping  ropes  and  watchi 
sys  and  tops,  and  at  t 
odging  the  flying  balls, 
abel  of  noise,  color  and  mJS 
Then  out  of  the  darknes\ 
g  walls  of  this  Czecho-Slov; 
3od  House,  a  fit  monumen 
on's  pride  and  hope  for  he 
lis  other  land — America. 
:mosphere  at  once  in  the!^ 
ith  its  huge  fire  place,  and 
nes  of  the  peasant  chaii 
imetimes  touched  with  ga;' 
Coming  to  the  East  Side 
willing  martyr — a  martj 
sten    to    ambitious     Easi 


"i}!tgfggirf-***^^: 


to 


ught  by  semi-volunteers   to  semi-\-^- 
g  students  at  intermittent  periods,\     .^e 
id  expected  some  cheap,  snappy  muW-  ^-i^^  ». 
termingled   with   some   badly  mangled      ^^°"- 
)od  music.     We  heard  neither.     While 
3   listened  to  the   violin   quartets,   the 
ano  solos  and  the  vocal  sextets,  our  mind 
iconsciously  forgot  that  this  was  a  re- 
iq;  :ii3\\'\  punoj  aA^q  pun  'uo'os  pui? 
►isodniq  ^^l^  ^n^a^iip  Sun^ap  'pa^ui-id 
L(:^     SuiA^q*    puB     S2[uaui9Si;j8ApB     aqi 
uSis8p'*n^4  9^^  ;^uuiq  SB  qons  j^asi^ui 
mAisA9  auoD  osTB  8ABU  T  PUB  'spuaiJj 


'ACE  PADEREWSKI  ON  THE 

\^Pt,°?  tl»e  Polish  Premier  M 
He  Had  Handed  His  Peace  T« 


build 


and 


subsidize    a 
r.    rangrac,     w^xwj 
■yg^"04    82   uo   puooas   aq;  — f 
-nv  uo  U8ATS  9q  Uiav  ;sji     J 
-nv   ui  ppq  9q  o:^  n^  'sa 
JO  s^iaoAV  ^q:^  Jo  qo^a  saDi 
JO   sBpKo   dBii\%  JO   :;sisuo 
l^Anse^    y^anquo^s^lO    aq   | 
-us"   BiuBJQ    oisnK    JO    l^ 

/ 
.laAa  SBU  ai  l^m  adoDs  ui  e 


Enj 


G 

Abb 

Rut] 

to  hi 

dran 

thes 

mer, 

had  i: 


THe 

<JMUSIC  OF  BOHEMIA 

BY 

LADISLAV    URBAN 


I 


CZECHOSLOVAK   ARTS   CLUB 
OF    NEW   YORK   CITY 

1919 


Cofiyright,  1919,  ^  Ladislav  Urban 


D.  B.  U/idike  •  The  Merrymount  Pi^ess  •  Boston 


U  1Q\ 


MUSIC 

..IBSA.:'.' 


6491 


THE  MUSIC  OF 
BOHEMIA 

IT  is  the  aim  of  this  sketch  to  set  forth  the 
comparatively  unfamiliar  facts  of  the 
musical  life  of  the  Czechoslovaks,  that 
people  who  for  so  long  lived  submerged,  or, 
as  the  old  Czech  proverb  has  it, "mixed  in  the 
same  bag  with  Germans  and  Hungarians." 
The  various  terms,  Bohemian,  Czech,  Slovak, 
Czechoslovak,  used  in  this  book  would  proba- 
bly puzzle  an  American  reader  if  not  defined; 
thus,  to  save  the  long  historical  and  geographi- 
cal explanations,  we  may  be  thoroughly  assured 
by  the  fact  that  all  these  different  names  mean 
one  nation  only,  that  of  the  most  western  branch 
of  the  Slavic  race  in  Europe.  "Czech"  is  the 
Slav  name  for  the  Slav  people  and  language  in 
Bohemia,  Moravia,  and  Silesia. The  terms  used 
to  designate  the  whole  country,  the  state,  are 
"Bohemia"  and  "Bohemian."  The  Czechs 
themselves  do  not  employ  this  distinction,  but 
use  the  word  "Czech"  in  both  senses.  Slovaks 


6  THE  MUSIC  OF  BOHEMIA 

are  that  people  who  live  in  the  northwestern 
part  of  Hungary,  called  Slovakia,  which  with 
Bohemia  forms  the  present  republic  and  nation 
of  the  Czechoslovaks/ 

Bohemian  music  is  not  so  well  known  in 
America  as  its  artistic  value  and  quality  de- 
serve. The  reasons  why  it  is  not  so  well  known 
are :  first,  that  it  was  often  classed  as  German 
music,  since  it  was  printed  by  German  pubHsh- 
ers ;  and  secondly,  it  was  handicapped  by  false 
criticisms  by  Germans,  who  saw  in  this  Bohe- 
mian musical  enthusiasm  a  desire  to  further 
national  aims.  It  is  true  that  the  artistic  works 
of  great  masters  help  much  to  foster  racial  pride 
and  are  great  moral  supports  to  national  efforts, 

^  Unfortunately,  the  proper  term  ' '  Bohemian ' '  has  been  con- 
fusedwith  its  other  mean  ing,a  synonym  of  the  word  "Gypsy." 
Some  Gypsies  coming  from  Bohemia  to  France  in  the  Mid- 
dle Ages  were  called  "Bohemiens"  tlirough  a  misunder- 
standing. The  British  composer  Balfe,  in  the  overture  to  his 
opem  T/ie  Bohemian  Girl,  introduced  by  mistake  a  Bohe- 
mian (Czech)  folk-melody  as  a  characteristic  Gypsy  tune. 
See  the  Allegro  theme. 

As  Gypsies  are  characterized  by  their  carefree  and  adven- 
turous life,  the  term,  thus  misapplied,  assumed  an  entirely 
different  meaning :  a  class  of  people  such  as  would-be  ar- 
tists, or  people  unhampered  by  convention. 


THE  MUSIC  OF  BOHEMIA  7 

but  it  is  more  by  means  of  their  regenerative 
artistic  qualities  than  by  sentimental  national- 
istic self-praise.  The  works  of  the  great  Czech 
masters  are  worth  studying  by  all  lovers  of 
music. 

The  Czechoslovak  nation  has  received  po- 
litical recognition  by  the  Allied  nations  and  the 
United  States ,  which  has  thus  made  their  dream 
of  political  independence  come  true.  The  people 
of  Czechoslovak  origin  in  the  United  States, 
being  free  and  unrestricted  under  the  Stars  and 
Stripes,  were  able  to  assist  their  old  country 
in  fighting  for  freedom.  Feeling  that  this  help 
was  possible  only  in  a  country  like  our  great 
democratic  nation,  they  gratefully  try  to  recip- 
rocate by  bringing  to  the  American  people  the 
best  of  the  Czechoslovak  culture. 


PART  I 

BEk;iNNiNG  with  the  earliest  historical  events 
in  Bohemia  we  discover  a  thread  running 
without  interruption  through  the  ages,  up  to 
our  times;  it  is  a  red  thread  of  continuous  strug- 
gle with  the  German  race,  which  endeavored 
to  crush  and  conquer  a  liberty-loving  people. 
The  first  clash  between  Czechs  and  Germans 
occurred  during  the  reign  of  King  Wenceslas 
(921-935  A.D.),  ending  with  the  assassination 
of  that  ruler.  Wenceslas,  proclaimed  a  saint, 
soon  after  his  tragic  death  became  a  symbol  of 
patriotism ;  and  was,  and  still  is,  an  adored  pro- 
tector of  the  Czech  Catholic  Church.  There  ex- 
ists a  spiritual  folk-song  composed  in  the  thir- 
teenth century  in  honor  of  this  national  saint, 
one  of  the  oldest  recorded  musical  and  literary 
relics  in  Europe,  exclusive  of  Latin  and  He- 
brew compositions.  This  song  still  lives  and  is 
sung  in  the  churches  in  Bohemia.^ 

^  The  poetry  of  the  choi-ale  contains  this  famous  prayer :  *'  St. 
Wenceslas,  do  not  let  thy  nation  perish  !  "  referring  to  the 
peril  coming  from  Germany.  See  the  Meditation,  page  o7. 


THE  MUSIC  OF  BOHEMIA 
ST.   WEJ^CESLAS'  CHORALE 


If 


4^-1 


Xm  CENTURY 

-J 1— 


^. 


as 


j^i  ^^l 


W- 


^1 


dolce 


$ 


3 


s 


^ 


J. 


mi 


fe 


1=F 


The  fifteenth  century  saw  the  great  refor- 
mation in  Bohemia  under  the  Czech  reformer, 
John  Huss,  who  in  Bethlehem  Chapel,  Prague, 
mercilessly  criticized  the  abuses  in  the  Church. 
His  flaming  sermons  fired  with  enthusiasm  the 
souls  of  the  truth-seeking  Czechs.  It  is  hard 
to  describe  the  anger  of  the  people  when  John 


10  THE  MUSIC  OF  BOHEMIA 

Huss  was  burned  at  the  stake,  in  the  year 
1415,  after  he  had  been  condemned  by  the 
Great  Council  of  Constance,  before  which  he 
had  been  summoned  to  renounce  his  heresies. 
The  righteous  indignation  of  his  loyal  follow- 
ers was  voiced  in  a  solemn  protest  to  those  in 
power :  *'  We  hold  it  to  be  a  perpetual  infamy 
and  disgrace  to  our  most  Christian  Kingdom 
of  Bohemia  and  the  most  renowned  Margra- 
vate  of  Moravia,  as  well  as  of  us  all. "  ^  A  great 
army  of  *  *  God's  Warriors' '  was  raised,  which, 
under  the  leadership  of  John  Zizka  the  One- 
Eyed,  harassed  the  military  forces  of  so-called 
Christian  Europe  for  sixteen  years,  never  los- 
ing a  battle.  The  great  battle  hymn  of  the 
Czechs  was  a  spiritual  folk-song,  beginning 
^^  Ye  Warriors  who  for  God  are  Fighting."  ^ 
Whenever  this  was  sung  in  a  charge  it  sowed 
terror  and  confusion  broadcast  among  their 
enemies.  The  chorale  contains  two  motifs :  The 


^  Dickinson:  Excursions  in  Musical  History.  1917. 

^  Tliis  chorale  was  used  by  Bedrich  Smetana  as  the  main 
theme  in  two  symphonic  poems,  Tabor  and  Blanik. 


THE  MUSIC  OF  BOHEMIA  n 

first,  assaulting,  with  its  characteristic  ham- 
mering rhythm,  Hke  repeated  blows  of  weap- 
ons ;  the  second,  deeply  religious,  expressing  in 
its  restrained  but  sweet  melodic  form  abso- 
lute faith  in  the  final  victory  of  truth. 


HUSSITE   WAR  SOJVG 

FIRST  HALF  OF  XV  CENTURY 


,^^-T^^ \ 1 ^- 


m 


Warriors  who  for   Godarejighting-,     and  for  His  di- 


:t=t=fe: 


^•^^^ 


=;=[= 


w 


i^^ 


:^=s^ 


t=X 


^ 


=S= 


-vine        law.    Pray  that  His   helfi    bevouchsafedyou ; 


I  I 

With  trust  un  -  to       Him     draw;  With        Him  you 
^f~ -  / 


12 


THE  MUSIC  OF  BOHEMIA 


w-^if3r^^"^' 


con  -  quer,  in  your  foes  in-sfiire      awe  ;  with     Him  you 
J?- 


7T^. — =* '==' r» ^ ' 2 


a 


i^f^ 


i~^ 


con-quer,  in  your  foes  in  -  sjiire 


The  blood  of  God's  Warriors  was  not  shed 
in  vain ;  the  scarlet  seed  shot  up  and  flowered 
into  peaceful  reformation,  wisdom,  and  bro- 
therhood, reaching  its  climax  in  the  Church 
of  "Bohemian  (Moravian)  Brethren;"  they 
were  no  more  "warriors,"  but  "brethren" 
in  this  Unitas  Fratnim.  Amos  Comenius,  the 
great  educator,  and  John  Blahoslav,  a  remark- 
able musical  theorist,  represent  the  height  of 
the  spiritual  quality  of  this  church.  Come- 
nius himself  composed  songs  for  educational 
purposes,  and  Blahoslav  wrote  Musica,  in  the 
year  1558,  the  first  theoretic  work  in  music 


THE  MUSIC  OF  BOHEMIA 


13 


published  in  Bohemia  in  the  Czech  language. 

Singing  was  an  important  part  in  the  service 

of  the  Bohemian  Brethren,  as  the  great  num- 


Woodcutfrom  Blahoslav's  Musica 


ber  of  their  original  chorals  proves.  One  of 
these  songs  should  be  mentioned  here  because 
of  its  beauty ;  it  is  the  Evening  Hymn  of  the 
Moravian  Brethren  } 

^  "  When  Peaceful  Night,"  the  Evening  Hymn  of  the  Mo- 


14  THE  MUSIC  OF  BOHEMIA 

After  the  glorious  time  of  the  Bohemian  re- 
formation, and  during  the  Catholic  reaction  in 
the  seventeenth  century,  the  promising  growth 
of  Czech  culture  was  suddenly  stopped.  In 
the  year  1620  Bohemia  lost  her  independence. 
About  thirty  thousand  Czech  families  left  their 
fatherland  rather  than  live  under  laws  inimical 
to  the  high  ideals  for  which  their  forefathers 
had  so  bravely  died.  Among  the  emigrants  was 
Amos  Comenius. 

The  new  tyrannical  government  under  Fer- 
dinand II  tried  to  destroy  all  records  of  the  art 
and  life  of  the  glorious  days  of  the  reformation 
by  burning  all  the  choral  and  hymn-books, 
especially  those  related  to  that  period.  The 
people  in  Bohemia  had  to  be  supplied  with  new 
songs.  This  aim  the  Jesuits  accomplished  by 
manufacturing  new  tunes  and  texts  and  by 
taking  over  for  church  use  many  of  the  secular 
Czech  folk-songs .  We  find  in  the  Catholic  song- 
books  in  Bohemia,  songs  in  which  a  folk- tune 

ravian  Brethren.  Published  by  Schirmer,  New  York.  Organ 
variations  on  this  choi-ale  were  made  by  Johannes  Barrend 
Litzau,  a  Dutch  organist. 


THE  MUSIC  OF  BOHEMIA  15 

with  the  folk-poetry  were  fitted  for  use  in  the 
church  by  changing  a  lover's  name  to  that  of 
a  saint. 

The  so-called  counter-reformation  under  the 
Jesuits  was  too  unpopular  among  the  Czechs  to 
lead  to  the  production  of  original  spontaneous 
songs  among  the  people;  but  at  the  same  time 
there  began  the  development  of  Bohemian  clas- 
sical music  as  a  part  of  the  European  classi- 
cal period.  The  Bohemian  masters  of  this  time 
whose  art  was  appreciated  in  foreign  countries 
were :  Bohuslav  M .  Cernohorsky  (1684-1 740) , 
the  teacher  of  Giuseppe  Tartini  and  Christoph 
W.  Gluck;  Anton  Reicha  (1770-1836),  who 
was  the  successor  of  Mehul  at  the  Conserva- 
tory of  Paris ;  and  Georg  Benda  (1722-1795), 
a  significant  name  in  the  history  of  melodrama 
or  recitation  with  music. 

The  enlightened  eighteenth  century  touched 
profoundly  the  spiritual  life  of  the  whole  of 
Europe.  To  the  Czechs  this  meant  a  great  Re- 
naissance, a  time  of  national  awakening.  For 
two  hundred  years  the  people  of  Bohemia  had 


16  THE  MUSIC  OF  BOHEMIA 

been  held  in  the  grip  of  systematic  German- 
ization .  Now,  in  the  age  of ' '  Liber te  —  Egalite 
— Fraternite,"  the  natural  outcome  of  Bohe- 
mian reformation,  founded  on  the  same  prin- 
ciples, was  to  lift  up  the  torch  of  freedom  and 
reason. 

Particular  attention  was  paid  during  this 
period  to  everything  that  had  originality  and 
the  essence  of  Czech  culture.  Music  and  liter- 
ature had  only  one  source — the  folk-song.  It 
was  the  ' '  common ' '  people  who  in  the  period 
of  darkness  under  the  feudal  system  had  pre- 
served their  mother  tongue  in  the  unwritten 
folk-poetry  with  its  unwritten  tunes.  It  is  not 
necessary  for  one  to  be  educated  in  music  or  in 
literature,  if  his  mind  is  emotional  enough  and 
his  mouth  and  throat  able  to  produce  a  musi- 
cal sound ;  then  his  natural  desire  for  self-ex- 
pression finds  its  outlet  in  the  most  natural  mu- 
sical form — in  song.  Thus  the  Czech  people 
expressed  in  their  uncensored  songs  whatever 
in  their  souls  was  uprising,  — their  love,  their 
passions,  —  paralyzing  the  misrule  of  their  op- 


THE  MUSIC  OF  BOHEMIA  17 

pressors.  What  an  astonishing  richness  of  folk- 
art  came  to  life,  when  the  first  collections  were 
published!  It  was  a  living  encyclopedia  of  the 
people;  for  there  are  among  the  Czech  folk- 
songs — 

Religious  and  Patriotic  Songs, 

Historical  Songs, 

Songs  about  Nature  and  Animals, 

Seasonal  Songs, 

Songs  of  Home :  Parental  love.  Filial  love, 
Cradle  Songs, 

Love  Songs, 

Peasant  Songs, 

Workman  Songs, 

Motion  Songs  :  National  Dances  —  Play 
Songs, 

Humorous  and  Nonsense  Songs, 

Popular  Philosophical  Songs. 

The  Czech  folk-songs  are  of  a  lively,  rhyth- 
mical, dance-like  character;  often  they  are  real 
dances. 

^  An  interesting  anal}'sis  of  folk-poetry  may  be  found  in  the 
magazine ./^sm,  for  December,  1918,  by  L.  Llewellyn :  "The 
Singing  Czechoslovaks." 


18 


THE  MUSIC  OF  BOHEMIA 

bohemiajy  love  SOJVG 


ENGLISH  VERSION  BY  L.  FOXLEE 


^ 


Lively 


3^ 


^- 


A^one    0  -  ther    do 


I   want  but  John  -  nie 


TT  tf~S — r^ — ffi? — F~ 

-^-^^^ 

J'    h    > 

^  '*  ,  ._r  j*^ — p- 

S  ' 

-£ — ?-£= 

— ! — 

sogal-lant,  JVo7ie  o-  ther  do  I  want  but  my  awn  John  j 


I 


S^ 


15=fc 


jL ■<■<— i^ 


John  will  drive  me  near  and  far    in    a    covered  wa- 


^ 


5^^ 


* 


gon, 


Covered  wa  -  gon,  with  four  hor- 


a^P^i^^-^i^^j^j^g;^ 


ses^  Heigh-Ho  I  My  dear  -  est      be  -  lorv  -  ed  John  I 

The  Slovak  folk-songs  contrast  with  the 
Czech  tunes  by  a  more  poetic  form,  a  freer 
rhythm,  and  a  tendency  to  introduce  church 
modes/ 

The  story  of  the  world-known  dance,  the 

^  ''Singing  is  the  chief  passion  of  the  Slovaks.  Nothing  will 
find  its  way  so  surely  to  the  heart  of  the  Slovak  people  as  a 
well-sung  song.  An  old  peasant  woman  once  complained  to  a 
friend  of  mine  thather  son  was  a  useless  disappointing  fellow. 


THE  MUSIC  OF  BOHEMIA 
SLOVAK  LOVE  SOJVG 

ENGLISH  VERSION  BY  A.  J.  LATHAM 


19 


Slowly 


1.  Ah,   sinkfromthesJcy,drearsun!Dark-enthehillandplain, 

2.  Ah,      sharp  is   the  hurt  I  feel,  Tom  is  my  soul  with  love; 

3.  Gone,  gonefrom  the  sky  the  sun.  Darkening  hill  and  plain. 


^ 


i 


3=l=tP= 


-Ffe= 


ll^jj    ^ — p^-  h    p. 

/7\ 

K        ^        N        N 

v^ — fl 

M^r-J'    /    ^     f- 

=^=^ 

^s— ^ 

•j    r   r   1  ,  r 

hold     me.    Gov  -  er     all    my 
one    knmv.    Lit  -  tie     sil  -  ver 
brief  night;  Endless  will  be  my 

TZy\ 

Let    no   one     be- 

Sweetheart,  you    a  - 1 

Just  for  this  one 

pain ! 
dove! 
pain! 

^=F=^r — ^^=T^ 

r-^ 

rf"^^ — 

=W=F 

^Vh — ^— —    r 

tp — LA 

E^=l^ 

k-^ 

Polka,  Avhich  is  of  Czech  origin,  seems  to  be 
of  peculiar  interest.  '*  The  Polka  was  invented 
about  the  year  1830,  by  a  country  lass  in  Bo- 
hemia, who  was  in  service  with  a  citizen  in 

'  What  was  the  matter  ? '  inquired  my  friend ; '  did  he  drink 
or  would  he  not  work?'  'Oh,  no,'  said  the  old  woman, 'but 
nothing  will  makehim  sing.  It's  a  great  misfortune.'  "  Scotus 
Viator  (Seton  Watson) :  Racial  Problems  in  Hungary. 


20  THE  MUSIC  OF  BOHEMIA 

a  small  Bohemian  place.  The  schoolmaster  of 
that  little  town,  happening  to  witness  the  per- 
formance by  the  girl  of  the  dance,  which  she 
had  contrived  merely  for  her  own  amusement, 
wrote  down  the  tune  as  she  sang  it  while 
dancing.  The  new  dance  soon  found  admirers, 
and  in  the  year  1835  it  made  its  w^ay  into 
Prague,  the  Bohemian  metropolis,  where  it  re- 
ceived the  name  Polka,  probably  on  account 
of  the  half  step  occurring  in  the  dance,  for  the 
word — pulka  —  designates  Hhe  half.'  Four 
years  later,  in  1839,  this  tune,  which  had  now 
become  a  great  favorite  in  Prague,  was  carried 
to  Vienna.  The  Polka  now  became  rapidly 
known  throughout  Austria.  In  1840  it  was 
danced  for  the  first  time  at  the  Odeon  in  Paris, 
by  Raab,  a  dancing-master  from  Prague.  Here 
it  found  so  much  favor  that  it  was  introduced 
with  astonishing  rapidity  into  the  most  elegant 
and  fashionable  dancing  salons  and  private 
balls  of  Paris.  From  France  it  spread  over  all 
Europe,  and  even  through  North  America. 
Celebrated  composers  wrote  new  tunes  to  it." 


THE  MUSIC  OF  BOHEMIA  21 

Besides  the  Polka,  there  is  another  Czech 
folk-dance  with  characteristic  wild  rhythm: 
TheFuriant,  which  means  a  boasting  farmer. 
Dvorak  in  his  First  Symphony  introduced  this 
dance,  its  rhythm  only,  instead  of  the  usual 
Scherzo.  The  most  brilliant  examples  of  the 
Polka  and  Furiant  are  those  in  Smetana's  opera 
The  Bartered  Bride. 

THE  FURIAKT 


THE   ORIGINAL   FOLK-TUNE 


Vivace 


p^r=^ 


^=s=t 


m 


^t=^- 


It  is  no  wonder  that  the  richness  of  folk-art 
was  overestimated  in  Bohemia  at  the  beginning 
of  the  last  century,  and  led  to  an  error.  Folk-art 
was  confused  with  nationality  in  art.  A  false 
principle  was  constructed  that ''  national  art" 
must  be  based  upon  folk-music.^  Thus  the 

^  Tliis  matter  was  also  discussed  in  America,  where  some 


22  THE  MUSIC  OF  BOHEMIA 

imitation  of  folk-poetry  and  folk-melodies  was 
approved  as  the  real  national  art.  It  is  astonish- 
ing how  long  this  principle,  violating  the  natu- 
ral law  of  progress,  could  endure.  Ail  works  of 
this  feverish  would-be-national  period  belong 
to  history.  They  live  no  more,  being  but  imita- 
tions. There  is  no  room  in  this  brief  article  for 
mention  of  their  names  or  works. ^ 

Into  the  artificial  edifice,  without  solid  foun- 
dations, erected  by  this  group  of  artists,  struck 
a  thunderbolt  of  genius,  who  tore  down  their 
flimsy  structure  and  exposed  their  false  theo- 
ries. This  genius  was  — Bedfich  Smetana,  the 
founder  of  modern  Czech  musical  art. 

people  saw  national  American  music  under  the  guise  of 
Indian  music.  Notliing  is  easier  for  a  composer  than  to  imi- 
tate the  melodies  of  different  nations,  preserving  their  rhyth- 
mical or  melodic  mannerisms.  Following  this  method,  the 
American  or  Czechoslovak  national  music  would  be  accessi- 
ble to  the  composer  of  any  nation ;  notice  the  great  number 
of  so  called  "oriental"  compositions  of  our  day.  Are  they 
national  music  of  Egypt,  East  India,  or  China? 

■^  One  of  the  composers  belonging  to  this  class  was  Jan  Skroup, 
whose  song  Where  is  my  home  ?  was  adopted  by  the  Czechs 
as  the  national  anthem,  more  for  the  words  appealing  to 
their  sentiment  than  for  the  tune. 


PART  II 

WHY  Bohemian  music  or  Czech  music  or 
Slovak  music  or  Czechoslovak  music? 
Does  there  exist  any  nationality  in  music? 

Every  nation,  with  its  mother-tongue,  its 
peculiar  customs,  its  distinct  mode  of  life, 
varies  more  or  less  in  form  of  culture  from  all 
other  nations.  The  differences  of  geographical 
positions,  racial  inclinations,  and  inborn  tem- 
per influence  all  departments  of  life  —  even 
Art.  '^  No  man  can  quite  emancipate  himself 
from  his  age  and  country  or  produce  a  model 
in  which  the  education,  the  religion,  the  poli- 
tics, usages,  and  arts  of  his  times  shall  have 
no  share.  He  cannot  wipe  out  of  his  work  every 
trace  of  his  thoughts  amidst  which  it  grew. 
Above  his  will  and  out  of  his  sight  he  is  neces- 
sitated by  the  air  he  breathes  and  the  idea 
on  which  he  and  his  contemporaries  live  and 
toil,  to  share  the  manner  of  his  times,  without 
knowing  what  that  manner  is."  (Emerson.) 

And  as  a  man  cannot  escape  from  his  own 


24  THE  MUSIC  OF  BOHEMIA 

people  and  his  own  time,  so  he  cannot  escape 
from  all  peoples  and  all  times.  The  greater  the 
artist,  the  more  he  expresses  the  Hfe  of  all  man- 
kind, the  more  he  becomes  the  universal  artist; 
and  strangely  enough,  the  more  he  becomes  the 
pride  of  his  nation.  The  world  speaks  of  his 
work  as  the  representative  art  of  his  nation,  and 
discovers  in  it  something  that  we  call ' '  nation- 
ahty . ' '  In  this  sense  Smetana  is  the  founder  of  a 
style  which  is  called  "Czech  national  music." 
Bedrich  Smetana  (1824-1 8 84 ) was  endowed 
by  nature  with  a  rare  gift  of  musical  initiative. 
While  a  wee  child  of  five  he  was  already  play- 
ing the  violin  and  composing ;  as  a  poor  stu- 
dent he  returned  one  evening  from  a  concert  of 
chamber  music  and  wrote  down  a  string  quar- 
tet he  had  heard,  because  he  could  not  buy  a 
copy  of  it.  Like  Beethoven,  he  lost  his  hearing 
in  the  time  of  his  most  intensive  period  of  cre- 
ation. When  deaf  and  persecuted  by  the  ma- 
lignity of  his  enemies,  when  fate  knocked  on 
his  door  with  its  iron  hand  and  robbed  him  of 
his  wife  and  child,  his  genius  created  the  great- 


THE  MUSIC  OF  BOHEMIA  25 

est  works.  The  high  spiritual  plane  of  his  life 
as  it  touched  the  personal  and  the  accidental  is 
revealed  in  the  charming  string  quartet '  *  From 
my  Life."' 

"My  quartet,"  says  Smetana,  "is  not 
merely  formal  playing  with  the  tones  and  mo- 
tifs, to  show  off  the  composer's  skill ;  but  it  is 
the  real  picture  of  my  Ufe.  The  tone  sound- 
ing for  a  long  time  in  the  Finale  is  that  whis- 


^  When  Liszt  heard  this  composition  in  Weimar  he  remarked : 
"There  is  nothing  to  be  said.  It  is  very,  very  beautiful. 
We  really  enjoyed  your  wonderful  quartet."  In  this  con- 
nection it  may  be  interesting  to  note  the  following  anecdote 
about  Smetana  and  Liszt,  who  were  great  friends.  On  one 
occasion  Liszt  introduced  Smetana  to  his  German  friends, 
who  naturally  pronounced  his  name  with  a  wrong  accent, 
as  the  English  would  do.  Liszt  corrected  them  with  a  clever 
musical  joke,  using  two  motifs  from  Beethoven's  Leonore 
and  Fidelio  overtures ;  the  first,  pointing  out  the  correct  ac- 
cent on  the  first  syllable : 


i 


i=»~i  ,.  .iIJ.^^mH-'.  JJTTra 


Sme-ta-na,     Sme-ta-na,      Sme-ta-na  am  I! 
The  other  pointing  out  the  wrong  accenton  the  second  syllable. 


N 


Sme  -  ta   -    na 


26  THE  MUSIC  OF  BOHEMIA 

tling  sound  of  very  high  pitch,  which  had  pre- 
ceded my  deafness.  This  Utde  tone-picturing 
I  dared  to  insert  in  this  composition  because 
it  was  so  fateful  for  me." 

Smetana  always  found  in  the  small  ensem- 
ble of  chamber  music  the  proper  interpreter  for 
expression  of  his  most  intimate  feelings.  Thus 
the  Trio,  op.  15,^  was  written  to  the  memory 
of  his  little  daughter,  whose  death  brought  to 
Smetana  a  great  sorrow. 

Smetana  never  accommodated  his  artistic 
principles  to  the  taste  of  the  public.  He  was 
too  serious  an  artist  to  make  a  work  pleasing 
to  the  masses.  His  eight  operas — except  The 
Bartered  Bride — had  to  fight  against  a  wall  of 
misunderstanding;  and  were  victorious,  only 
after  many  years  of  dispute,  because  of  their 
originality  and  vitality.  A  real  genius,  Sme- 
tana was  much  ahead  of  his  time. 

The  Bartered  Bride''  (1866),  Two  Widows 


^  Trio  in  G  minor,  op.  15,  for  piano,  violin,  and  violoncello. 

^  Was  performed  for  the  first  time  in  America  in  1 909  at  the 
Metropolitan  Opera  House,  New  York,  with  great  success. 


THE  MUSIC  OF  BOHEMIA  27 

(1874),  The  Kiss  {1^1  e>),  The  Secret  {lS7S), 
and  The  DeviPs  Wall  (1882)  represent  the 
highest  style  of  the  modern  comic  operas.  Each 
of  these  works  introduces  a  charming  overture 
of  a  pure  musical  beauty,  classical  in  form. 
Dalibor  (1868),  a  historical-romantic  opera, 
became  a  favorite  even  outside  its  native  land. 
The  story  is  based  upon  a  Czech  folk-legend 
of  the  fifteenth  century,  which  tells  about 
a  knight,  Dalibor,  who  was  a  prisoner  at  the 
castle  in  Prague.  He  begged  his  jailor  for  a 
vioHn  to  lighten  the  heavy  hours  of  his  captiv- 
ity. After  a  time,  it  is  said,  he  played  with  such 
marvelous  skill  that  the  people  came  from  far 
and  wide  to  stand  outside  the  prison  walls  and 
listen  to  the  charming  music.  Likewise  the 
libretto  to  the  festival  opera  Libussa  (188 1), 
is  drawn  from  the  Czech  history.  This  work 
marks  the  climax  of  Smetana's  genius,  and  a 
knowledge  of  it  is  indispensable  to  the  student 
of  Czech  musical  art.  The  overture  to  this  opera 
is  a  masterpiece  of  form  and  festival  mode. 
It  begins  with  a  trumpet  call,  developed  in  a 


28  THE  MUSIC  OF  BOHEMIA 

Maestoso 


I 


eS^Ei 


/ 

tremendous  gradation.  Surely  this  work  ought 
to  be  heard  at  least  in  a  concert  hall. 

Considering  the  technical  side,  Smetana's 
works  exhibit  a  great  skill  in  the  most  prob- 
lematic combinations  of  the  polyphonic  style 
flowing  so  naturally,  that  the  hearer  does  not 
notice  the  difiiculties  solved  with  such  exquis- 
ite grace  and  lightness.  The  melodies  are  fresh, 
original,^  and  impressive;  and  enriched  with 
Smetanian  harmonic  peculiarities.  Speaking 
of  the  harmony,  I  want  to  disclose  this  fact, 
that  in  his  piano  sketch,  ' '  A  Scene  from  Mac- 
beth," composed  in  the  year  1859,  there  was 
introduced  for  the  first  time  in  the  history  of 
musical  literature,  the  whole  tone  scale: 

1  Smetana's  inventive  power  was  never  exhausted;  he  was 
often  compared  to  Mozart.  By  no  means  should  his  melodies 
be  mentioned  in  relation  with  Czech  folk-song ;  the  statement 
about  T/ie  Bartered  Bride  that  ' '  National  melodies  and  Ra- 
tional rhythms  furnish  the  chief  stock  of  the  work,"  and 
that  "the  overture  is  a  masterly  setting  of  folk-song  mate- 
rial in  fugal  style ' '  (  The  O/iera,  vol.  ix  in  The  Art  of  Music) , 
has  to  be  corrected.  There  is  no  trace  of  Czech  folk-song  in 
the  whole  opera. 


THE  MUSIC  OF  BOHEMIA 


29 


i^s 


iJjn  .X!5: 


3*: 


:t=P 


35^ 


?-t^-5 


ff 


As  a  composer  for  the  piano  Smetana  left  a 
considerable  number  of  works,  especially  Pol- 
kas, which  he  idealized  in  a  very  poetic  form. 
His  Polka  No.  1,  op.  7,  was  one  of  Liszt's  fa- 
vorites; the  subject  of  this  dance  will  not  be 
thought  devoid  of  interest  in  this  place: 

Allegro  rommodo 


Two  cycles  of  piano  compositions,  of  which 
the  first  bears  the  tide  Ji^ves,  and  the  other 
The  Bohemian  Dances,  especially  deserve  the 
attention  of  the  pianist.  In  this  later  work  the 


30  THE  MUSIC  OF  BOHEMIA 

Czech  folk-melodies  are  preserved  in  very  artis- 
tic and  pianistic  style.  Smetana's  best  known 
composition,  which  is  often  played  at  concerts, 
is  his  etude  By  the  Seashore^  op.  17,  a  diffi- 
cult but  very  eifecdve  piece  of  music  snatch- 
ing the  spell  of  the  Northern  Sea.^ 

In  the  last  period  of  his  creation  Smetana  ex- 
pressed his  love  and  admiration  for  his  country 
and  its  history  in  poems  in  a  cycle  called  My 
Country^  consisting  of  six  charming  symphonic 
poems :  Fysehrad^  the  old  castle,  the  seat  of  the 
first  Bohemian  ruler;  Vltava,  the  river  of  Bo- 
hemia; Sdrka^  the  Bohemian  Amazon;  From 
Bohemian  Meadows  and  Woodlands^  an  id}dl ; 
Tabor  and  Blanik^  which  picture  in  tones  the 
glorious  past  epoch  of  the  Reformation.  With 
this  work  the  composer  reached  his  goal.  No 
greater  tribute  to  his  success  is  needed  than 
Liszt's  exclamation  upon  hearing  of  Smetana's 
death — ''He  was  a  genius!" 

Anton  Dvorak  (1841-1904),  the bestknown 

^  It  was  composed  in  Sweden,  in  1862,  with  original  title 
Vid  Stranden,  Mine  af  Sverige,  while  Smetana  was  a  mu- 
sical director  in  Goteborg. 


THE  MUSIC  OF  BOHEMIA  31 

Czech  composer, was  a  son  of  a  village  butcher. 
From  his  early  childhood  his  only  passion  was 
music.  In  spite  of  many  struggles  and  much 
suffering,  he  did  not  cease  to  study  and  work. 
Music  was  his  consolation ,  his  life.  In  j  ust  praise 
it  may  be  said  that  the  high  position  of  this 
composer  in  the  musical  world  is  due  chiefly 
to  his  unparalleled  perseverance  under  his  own 
criticism.  To  take  a  full  orchestra  score  of  a 
completed  opera  and  destroy  it  and  then  re- 
write it,  was  characteristic  of  Dvorak's  method 
of  attaining  perfection.  This  self- teaching  ex- 
plains his  temporary  experimenting  and  un- 
certainty in  form. 

The  number  of  Dvorak's  compositions  is 
vast,  covering  almost  all  forms  of  music.  His 
fame  began  with  Slavic  Dances^  brilliantly  in- 
strumented, which  appealed  to  the  larger  pub- 
lic. Of  his  five  symphonies  the  last  one,  From 
the  J\'ew  Worlds  was  composed  while  Dvorak 
was  teacher  of  composition  at  the  National  Con- 
servatory of  Music  in  New  York,  in  1892. 
To  this  American  period  belongs  the  popular 


32  THE  MUSIC  OF  BOHEMIA 

String  quartet,  op.  96,  and  his  most  beautiful 
as  well  as  his  last  vocal  opus,  the  cycle  of  The 
Biblical  So??gs,  op.  99. 

Whoever  wishes  to  have  a  clear  idea  of 
Dvorak's  genius  must  study  and  hear  the  won- 
derful symphonic  poems  from  the  last  period 
of  the  composer's  life.  Here  Dvorak,  master 
of  classical  and  absolute  music,  pays  his  trib- 
ute to  the  modern  form  of  romantic  program 
music  with  great  success.  As  a  composer  of 
piano  music,  Dvorak  could  not  subdue  his  em- 
inent orchestral  genius  to  clavier  technique; 
his  piano  compositions  call  for  instrumenta- 
tion. The  seventh  number  from  opus  101  has 
become  an  extraordinary  favorite  in  America ; 
it  is  the  celebrated  Humoreske. 

Of  his  seven  operas  the  most  beautiful  is 
Russalka^  which  exhibits  the  best  qualities  of 
the  author's  creative  ability.  It  may  be  said, 
however,  that  all  Dvorak's  operas  are  handi- 
capped by  a  lack  of  conciseness.  They  cannot 
be  compared  favorably  with  Smetana's  works 
in  dramatic  feeling.  The  interesting  remark 


THE  MUSIC  OF  BOHEMIA  33 

of  Liszt,  that  ^Svhat  Smetana  deserved — 
Dvorak  has  reaped,"  should  be  modified  to 
this  extent,  that  these  Czech  masters  never  con- 


sidered themselves  rivals.  Each  fulfilled  his 
task  in  his  own  way,  and  each  appreciated  the 
work  of  the  other. 

ZdenkoFibich  (1850-1900)  was  the  creator 
of  the  modern  melodramas  —  recitations  with 


34  THE  MUSIC  OF  BOHEMIA 

music.  The  first  Czech  composer  who  wrote 
this  unusual  form  was  Georg  Benda  (1722— 
1795).  His  melodramatic  compositions,  Me- 
dea, Ariadna  on  the  JVaxos,  appeared  only  two 
years  after  Rousseau's  melodramatic  experi- 
ments. Benda  did  not  know  anything  about 
Rousseau's  work  and  made  his  melodramas  of 
his  own  initiative.  His  technique  was  essen- 
tially diiferent  from  that  used  later  by  Beetho- 
ven in  Egmojit,  by  Schumann  in  Manfred, 
and  by  Fibich  in  his  works.  Benda  never  let 
his  music  be  performed  simultaneously  with 
the  recitations,  but  as  an  interlude  between  the 
short  sections  of  the  poetry. 

One  hundred  years  after  Benda,  Fibich  re- 
vived melodrama  in  Bohemia,  greatly  chang- 
ing and  enriching  its  technique.  Thus  his  tri- 
logy, Hippodamia,  performed  in  three  even- 
ings, is  the  first  example  in  the  history  of  music 
where  the  modern  orchestra  supports  contin- 
uously the  recitations  of  the  actors.  Fibich  pre- 
pared himself  for  the  great  task  of  writing  scenic 
melodrama  by  composing  many  concert  melo- 


THE  MUSIC  OF  BOHEMIA  35 

dramas,  of  which  The  Waterman  became  a  fa- 
vorite in  Bohemia .  These  are  very  fine  specimens 
of  the  form  so  often  anathematized  by  aesthetes. 


Fibich  wrote  also  six  operas  in  which  he 
proved  himself  a  master  of  dramatic  style.  It  is 
a  pity  that  these  works  are  not  better  known. 
One  of  his  operas,  The  Tempest^  takes  its  sub- 
ject from  Shakespeare's  play. 


36 


THE  MUSIC  OF  BOHEMIA 


Modern  Czech  music  is  represented  by  the 
works  of  Vitezslav  Novak  (l870),  a  pupil  of 
Dvorak.  He  is  the  greatest  unrivaled  talent  of 
present  Czech  musical  art.  It  is  necessary  to 
hear  only  his  ocean  fantasy,  The  Storm ^  op.  42, 
for  soli,  chorus,  and  orchestra,  to  get  an  idea 
of  his  elementary  power  of  creation. 

The  principal  theme  from  The  Storm : 


(Tfp-^-T-^ 

F^— B=1 

—IS 

1      ff 

A i— 

-^ 

=i — 

\^Vi    *•    -  - 

The  magnificent  art  of  interpretation  of  the 
Prague  and  MoravianTeachers  inspired  Novak 
to  compose  male  choruses  containing  very  often 
great  difficulties  for  intonation;  as  an  instance, 
in  the 

CHRISTMAS  LULLABY 

OP.  37,  V 


Tranquillo  motto 


^JS_ 


Sleefi,  Lit  -  tie  Christ  child,  sleep. - 


g^^ 


mormora 


rando 


THE  MUSIC  OF  BOHEMIA  S7 

A  special  analysis  would  be  necessary  to  dis- 
cover Novak's  melodic  and  harmonic  richness 
in  chamber  music,  piano  compositions,  and 
especially  in  songs.  His  Fan,  op.  43,  a  poem 
in  tones  for  piano  solo,  is  one  of  the  most  mar- 
velous works  of  the  modern  piano  literature. 
It  consists  of  five  parts:  Prologue,  Mountains, 
Ocean,  Woods,  Woman. 

Simultaneously  with  Novak  came  another 
Czech  modernist  from  Dvoi^ak's  class  in  com- 
position, Josef  Suk  (1874),  the  second  violin- 
ist in  the  famous  Bohemian  String  Quartet. 
He  is  a  composer  of  absolute  subjectivity  with 
incHnation  to  mysticism;  a  real  poet,  in  both 
the  most  complicate  symphonic  forms  and  in 
short  piano  sketches.  He  wrote  the  first  com- 
position made  under  the  suggestion  of  the  great 
war  in  Bohemia,  his  Meditation,  op.  35,  for 
string  orchestra,  in  which  is  heard  the  prayer 
from  the  old  St.Wenceslas'  Chorale:  ''Do  not 
let  thy  nation  perish ! ' '  with  a  new  solemnity 
of  accent. 


PART  III 

ALTHOUGH  the  saying,  **  Where  there  is  a 
-^  J^  Czech — there  you  hear  music,"  may  be 
exaggerated,  nevertheless  it  was  the  observa- 
tion of  the  neighboring  nations  that  the  people 
of  Bohemia  were  from  earliest  times  very  fond 
of  music.  Richard  Wagner,  in  his  novel,  The 
Pilgrimage  to  Beethoven^  pays  high  tribute  to 
the  Czech  performing  musicians.  He  relates  in 
it  a  story  of  a  young  musical  enthusiast,  who 
traveled  from  Paris  to  Vienna  to  see  Beethoven. 
In  the  woods  on  the  Bohemian  border  he  met 
a  group  of  wandering  Czech  musicians,  who 
on  the  road  under  the  blue  sky  played  for  him 
Beethoven's  Septet  with  such  profound  under- 
standing that  he  pronounced  their  performance 
of  this  work  the  best  he  ever  heard. 

It  was  the  enthusiasm  of  a  real  love  for 
music  which  accomplished  the  formation,  for 
instance,  of  the  Associations  of  the  Prague  and 
of  the  Moravian  Teachers  of  Public  Schools, 
two  bodies  which  perform  male  choruses  a  ca- 


THE  MUSIC  OF  BOHEMIA  39 

pella  with  ideal  interpretation.  It  is  the  Czech 
traditional  musicianship  which  makes  the 
members  of  these  Associations  sacrifice  their 
time  in  exhausting  rehearsals  in  order  to  secure 
a  perfect  result.  Wherever  they  have  sung,  in 
France,  Belgium,  Germany,  etc.,  the  Czech 
Teachers  have  gone  out  victorious  from  the 
contest. 

The  pedagogical  foundation  for  the  educa- 
tion of  Bohemian  musicians  was  laid,  when 
there  was  established,  in  the  year  1811,  the 
Conservatory  of  Music  of  Prague,  which  is 
placed  now  in  a  beautiful  building,  called 
^'Rudolphinum,"  in  the  Old  Town,  the  most 
ancient  borough  of  the  city  of  Prague.^  This  in- 
stitution has  sent  into  the  world  a  large  num- 
ber of  excellent  artists.  Every  leading  sym- 

1  Pi-ague,  the  metropolis  of  Bohemia,  preserved  its  reputa- 
tion of  eminence  in  musical  art.  In  this  town  Mozart  spent 
the  happiest  days  of  his  life.  After  his  fatherland  despised 
its  son,  Bohemia  welcomed  the  great  master  with  open  arms. 
He  was  understood  by  the  people  among  whom  he  so  gladly 
lived.  Prague,  the  city  of  antique  magnificence,  was  the 
place  where  Don  Giovanni  was  written  in  order  to  express 
the  thanks  of  the  great  master  to  his  "  dearest  citizens  of 
Prague,"  for  their  ardent  reception. 


40  THE  MUSIC  OF  BOHEMIA 

phony  or  theatrical  orchestra  in  the  world  has 
among  its  members  one  or  more  Czech  mu- 
sicians, pupils  of  the  Prague  Conservatory. 
The  violin  class  especially  became  famous 
under  the  leadership  of  Otokar  Sevcik,  very 
well  known  among  our  American  students  of 
violin.  Jan  Kubelik,  the  celebrated  artist,  was 
one  of  his  Czech  pupils.  From  this  Conserva- 
tory came  all  the  members  of  the  Bohemian 
String  Quartet,  an  ensemble  highly  esteemed 
in  Europe. 

Whoever  wishes  to  hear  Smetana's,Fibich's, 
and  Dvorak's  operas  perfectly  produced, 
should  visit  the  National  Theatre  in  Prague, 
founded  in  the  year  1868,  w^here  the  orches- 
tra is  led  under  the  baton  of  Karel  Kovarovic,  a 
musician  of  rare  power — a  real  Smetanian 
conductor. 

This  sketch  of  Bohemian  music  would  not 
be  complete  without  mentioning  two  names  of 
world-famous  singers  familiar  to  the  Ameri- 
can public — Emmy  Destinn,  the  dramatic  so- 
prano, and  Karel  Burian,  the  tenor,  known 


THE  MUSIC  OF  BOHEMIA  41 

from  their  appearances  at  the  Metropolitan 
Opera  in  Ne\^'  York.  Madam  Destinn  inter- 
prets wonderfully  the  title  roles  in  Fibich's 
Sarka;  she  is  unsurpassed  as  Libussa,  and  as 
Milada  in  Dalibor^  both  by  Smetana.  Burian 
is  delightful  as  Lukas  in  The  Kiss^  and  mag- 
nificent as  Dalibor. 


CATALOGUE  OF  PRINCIPAL    WORKS 
OF  CZECH  MUSIC  MASTERS 

BEDRICH  SMETANA 

Piano  Works 
Six  Morceaux  caracteristiques.  Op.  1. 
Album  Leaves.  Op.  2. 
Trois  Polkas  de  Salon.  Op.  7. 
Trois  Polkas  poetiques.  Op.  8. 
Sketches.  Op.  4  and  5. 
Three  etudes. 
By  the  Seashore.  Op.  17.  Published  by  Schirmer,  New 

York. 
Fantasy  on  Czech  Folk-Songs. 
Rgves.  Six  morceaux  caracteristiques. 
Bohemian  Dances. 

Chamber  Music 
Trio  for  piano,  violin,  and  violoncello.  G  minor.  Op.  15. 
From  my  Life.  A  string  quartet.  E  minor. 
Second  string  quartet.  D  minor. 
From  the  Homeland.  A  duo  for  violin  and  piano. 

Symphonic  Works 
Triumph  Symphony.  E  flat  major. 
Richard  III  (Shakespeare's  Richai^) .  Op.  1 1 . 
Wallenstein's  Camp  (Schiller).  Op.  14. 
Hakon  Jarl,  Op.  16. 


THE  MUSIC  OF  BOHEMIA  43 

My  Fatherland.  A  cycle  of  six  symphonic  poems: 

(a)  Vysehrad. 

(b)  Vltava. 

(c)  Sarka. 

{d)  From  Bohemian  Meadows  and  Woodlands. 
(e)   Tabor.  1  An  organ  arrangement  by  L.  Urban  was 
(/)  Blanik.  J  published  by  the  Gray  Co. ,  New  York. 

Operas 
The  Bartered  Bride. 
Dalibor. 
Libussa. 
Two  Widows. 
The  Kiss. 
The  Secret. 
The  Devil's  Wall. 

NB.  Smetana's  very  first  opera  is  The  Brandeburgers  in 
Bohemia;  the  last  one,  Viola^  was  left  unfinished. 

ANTONIN  DVORAK 

Piano  Works 

Waltzes.  Op.  54. 

Poetic  Impressions.  Op.  85. 

Humoresques.  Op.  101. 

Songs 
Duos.  Op.  38. 
Gipsy  Songs.  Op.  55. 
Biblical  Songs. 


44  THE  MUSIC  OF  BOHEMIA 

Chamber  Miisic 
String  Quartets : 

A  minor.  Op.  16. 

D  minor.  Op.  34. 

E  flat  major.  Op.  51. 

C  major.  Op.  6 1 . 

E  major.  Op.  80. 

F  major.  Op.  96. 

A  flat  major.  Op.  105. 

G  major.  Op.  106. 
Piano  Quartets  : 

D  major.  Op.  23. 

E  flat  major.  Op.  8  7. 
Piano  Trios : 

B  flat  major.  Op.  21. 

G  minor.  Op.  26. 

F  minor.  Op.  65. 

Dumky.  Op.  90. 
Quintets : 

G  major.  Op.  77.  String  quartet  and  doublebass. 

E  flat  major.  Op.  97.  Two  violas. 

A  major.  Op.  81.  String  quartet  and  piano. 
Serenade.  D  minor.  Op.  44.  2  oboes,  2  clarinets,  2  bas- 
soons, 3  French  horns,  violoncello,  and  doublebass. 
Sonatina.  Op.  100.  Piano  and  violin. 
Sonata.  Op.  57 .  Piano  and  violin. 
Rondo.  Op.  94.  Violoncello  and  piano. 
Bagatelles.  Two  violins,  violoncello,  and  cabinet  organ. 


THE  MUSIC  OF  BOHEMIA  45 

Concertos 
Op.  33.  Piano. 
Op.  5  3.  Violin. 
Op.  104.  Violoncello. 

Symphonic  Works 
First  Symphony.  D  major.  Op.  60. 
Second  Symphony.  D  minor.  Op.  70. 
Thiixi  Symphony.  F  major.  Op.  76. 
Fourth  Symphony.  G  major.  Op.  88. 
Fifth  Symphony, i^rom/Ae  New  World. Yjimnor.  Op.  95. 
Three  Sla\ic  Rhapsodies.  Op.  45. 
Slavic  Dances.  Op.  46  and  47. 
Legends.  Op.  59. 
Suite.  Op.  98. 
Overtures : 

My  Home.  Op.  62. 

Husitska.  Op.  67. 

In  Nature.  Op.  9 1 . 

Carneval.  Op.  92. 

Othello.  Op.  93. 
Symphonic  Variations.  Op.  78. 

Symphonic  Poems: 

The  Wateraian.  Op.  107. 

The  Midday  Witch.  Op.  108. 

The  Gold  Spinning- Wheel.  Op.  109. 

The  Dove.  Op.  110. 

Heroic  Song.  Op.  111. 


46  THE  MUSIC  OF  BOHEMIA 

Operas 
Dimitrij . 
Jacobin. 
Russalka. 
The  Devil's  Bride. 

Oratorios 
Requiem. 
St.  Ludmila. 
The  Spectre's  Bride. 
The  American  Flag. 
Stabat  Mater. 

ZDENKO  FIBICH 

Piano  Works 

Impressions  and  remembrances.  Author's  musical  diary 
containing  352  rather  short  compositions. 

Painter's  Studies.  Op.  5  6.  Six  compositions  which  mir- 
ror the  composer's  admiration  for  classical  paintings. 

Chamber  Music 
Piano  Quartet.  E  minor.  Op.  1 1 . 
String  Quartet.  G  major.  Op.  8. 

Quintet.  E  flat  major.  Op.  42.  Piano,  violin,  violoncello, 
clarinet,  and  French  horn. 

Symphonic  Works 
Symphony.  E  flat  major.  Op.  3. 
Symphony.  F  major.  Op.  17. 
Symphony.  E  minor.  Op.  53. 


THE  MUSIC  OF  BOHEMIA  47 

Symphonic  poems : 
Othello. 

Zaboj,  Slavoj  a  Ludek. 
Toman. 
The  Tempest. 
The  Spring. 
At  Evening. 

Concert  Melodramas 
The  Christmas  Eve.  Op.  9. 
The  Revenge  of  Flowers. 
Eternity.  Op.  14. 
The  Waterman.  Op.  15. 
Queen  Emma. 
Hacon.  Op.  30. 

Scenic  Melodramas 
Hippodamia: 

Part  I.  The  Wooing  of  Pelops.  Op.  3 1 . 
Part  11.  The  Atonement  of  Tantalus.  Op.  32. 
Part  III.  The  Death  of  Hippodamia.  Op.  33. 

Operas 

The  Tempest  (1894). 

Hedy  (1895). 

The  Bride  of  Messina  (1883). 

Sarka  (1897). 

Helga  and  Dargun  (1898). 


48  THE  MUSIC  OF  BOHEMIA 

JOSEF  SUK 
Piano  Works 
Fantaisie  Polonaise.  Op.  5. 
Piano  Works.  Op.  7. 
Poetic  Impressions.  Op.  10. 
Piano  Works.  Op.  12. 
Suite.  Op.  21. 
The  Spring.  Op.  22  a. 
Summer  Impressions.  Op.  22  b. 
Life  and  Dreams.  Op.  30. 

Chamber  Music 
Piano  Quartet.  C  major,  Op.  1,  and  A  major,  Op.  2, 
Quintet.  G  minor.  Op.  8. 
Quartet.  B  flat  major.  Op.  11. 

Symphonic  Works 
Symphony.  E  major.  Op.  15. 
Symphony.  C  mxinor.  Op.  27. 
Serenade.  Op.  6,  String  orchestra. 
A  Fairy  Tale.  Op.  16. 

Fantasy.  Op.  24.  Violin  solo  and  orchestra. 
Praga.  Op.  26.  » 

Asrael.  Op.  27. 
A  Tale  of  Summer.  Op.  29. 
Meditation.  Op.  35. 


THE  MUSIC  OF  BOHEMIA  49 

ViTEZSLAV  NOVAK 

Piano  Works 
Remembrances.  Op.  6. 
Serenades.  Op.  9. 
Barcarolles.  Op.  10. 
Eclogues.  Op.  1 1 . 
At  Twilight.  Op.  13. 
Bohemian  Dances.  Op.  15. 
Sonata  Eroica.  Op.  24, 
Songs  of  Winter  Nights.  Op.  30. 
Two  Moravian  Dances  (from  Wallachia).  Op.  34. 
Pan.  Op.  43. 
Exoticon.  Op.  45. 

Songs 
Melancholy.  Op.  25.  Six  songs. 
Melancholic  Songs  of  Love.  Op.  30. 
The  Valley  of  a  New  Kingdom.  Op.  31. 
Twenty-five  Slovak  Folk-Songs. 
Eight  Nocturnes.  Op.  39. 
Eroticon.  Op.  46. 

Chamber  Miisic 

Quintet.  A  minor.  Op.  1 5 .  Piano,  two  violins,  viola,  and 
violoncello. 

Trio  quasi  una  ballata.  Op.  27.  Piano,  violin,  and  vio- 
loncello. 

String  quartet.  D  major.  Op.  35. 


50  THE  MUSIC  OF  BOHEMIA 

Symphonic  Works 

In  Tatra  Mountains.  Op.  26. 
Slovak  Suite.  Op.  32. 
Eternal  Desire.  Op.  33. 

Orchestral  and  Vocal 

The  Storm.  Op.  42. 
The  Wedding  Shirt. 

Operas 
The  Little  Demon. 
Karlstejn. 

Note  :  The  most  valuable  collections  of  Czechoslovak  folk- 
songs^ especially  those  of  Vitezslav  Novak  (Slovak  Songs) 
and  of  V.  J.  Novotmy  (Libicke  pisne) ,  may  be  found  at 
the  Webster  Branch  of  the  New  Fork  Public  Library. 


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